Get to know team… Meet one of PRO Expo’s latest team member, Danny Knapp, our featured employee this month. While Danny is new to to PRO Expo, he is no stranger to the trade show world. He has been in the field for 12 years. Danny has many responsibilities throughout the warehouse. Ensuring that your assets are handled with care and your requests are met to the highest level are just some. See what else makes Danny a valuable team member to PRO Expo Exhibits. Explain your job in a nutshell.  I am the Client Services Manager. I ensure client requests are completed beyond expectations What ..read more

Get to know team… Meet one of PRO Expo’s latest team member, Jaliece Rivers, our featured employee this month. Jaliece is taking the time to learn the ropes of the trade show industry. Her job as Account Manager is to make our client’s life easier from the discovery meeting to the show floor and beyond. She will be in search of the perfect exhibit for each company while making sure to provide excellent service along the way. Check out what makes Jaliece unique to PRO Expo Exhibits. Explain your job in a nutshell.  I work with existing clients to make sure that they have the tools necessar ..read more

Ryan has been with PRO Expo for awhile, but has recently made a switch from part-time Service Tech to full-time Estimator. His past experience with PRO Expo and expertise at running an art gallery, makes him uniquely qualified for this position. Get to know Ryan Mocaby, our featured employee this month, a little better with his interview below. Explain your job in a nutshell.  Project managing, estimating, vendor relations and product research.  What are your passions/hobbies outside of work?  My hobbies include going to art shows, collecting art and playing guitar. How did you ..read more

The Guy in Aisle 400 Call me a foodie. Call me a trade show snob. I love good food and admire smart trade show marketing. Both take careful, thoughtful preparation. Both give back as much as you put into them. And both, when done well, are experiences you want to share. Last week, I was walking a local trade show… Mostly 10 ft. and 20 ft. inlines with a mishmash of budget, mid-price, and a smattering of custom exhibits. Then I came to “the guy”in Aisle 400.” I’m embarrassed to say I stopped and stared. In the 10 ft. booth space there were two VERY cheap banner stands with fuzzy, curled graphi ..read more

While many behaviors might seem normal to you as a member of the trade show community, others are downright bizarre to those who rarely set foot in a trade show hall. With the assistance of my colleagues, I’ve compiled a list of 40 Things You Do @ Trade Shows You Would Never Do Anywhere Else. It was actually much longer, but this is a PG-rated article. Drinking doesn’t count. We know you drink. You just don’t always start at lunch. And for the sake of discretion (and possible litigation), we’ve ignored trade shows in CO, WA, OR, and now CA. Don’t pretend you don’t know why. Enjoy! 40 Things Yo ..read more

According to a study by the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR), 80 percent of leads generated on the trade show floor go unfulfilled. Essentially, eight out of every 10 leads you painstakingly collect at shows might just as well go directly into the trash along with 80 percent of your program’s value. Successful Lead Management You went to the show, wowed attendees with your impressive exhibit, gathered hundreds of leads, and passed them on to sales. Your work here is done. Or is it? You might think it’s not your responsibility to worry about whether or not the sales department d ..read more

You’ve picked your booth and now you’re ready to design the layout…Not quite!  It is important to check all booth regulations before you dive into that design. Did you know hanging signs are typically not allowed in inline booths?  This is because they are usually restricted to an 8′ height maximum.   Check out this quick informational video below to learn the ins and outs of standard booth sizing regulations in the US. https://secureservercdn.net/50.62.90.29/88f.a96.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/STANDARD_BOOTH_REGULATIONS_2.mp4   Check us out on Soci ..read more

Surprisingly, trade shows and zombies have a lot in common. Sometimes in a good way. Who would have thought that zombies could be a role model for your sales and marketing team? 10 Things the Undead Can Teach You 1. Single-minded Focus. You may not appreciate their all-consuming desire to eat your flesh, but they are committed to the task. They let nothing get in their way, except an ax to the brain. Your next trade show will be wildly successful, if you make it a priority, not an afterthought. 2. Teamwork. Zombies travel in packs, like ravenous hyenas. That teamwork ensures them a m ..read more

X-Ray Vision We shouldn’t but we do. We hope the next trade show attendee who walks in our booth is Superman. Not Superman Superman, but the sales equivalent of Superman. Faster to sign a contract than a speeding bullet. More powerful than the VP of Purchasing. Able to leap over objections in a single bound. We yearn for Superman (or Superwoman) to enter our trade show booth space. Yet, we place kryptonite everywhere in sight so Superman veers away (no doubt into the arms of our evil nemesis — Super Savvy SalesPerson). What did we do wrong? Well, let’s eliminate the easy mistakes, the ones so ..read more

Trade shows can intimidate anyone new to exhibit marketing. The best course is to dive into the pool. The following tips — from the shallow end of the pool — will get you started. When it’s time to swim laps, review the other 80+ Trade Show Articles available in this section. Each one guaranteed to turn you into Michael Phelps (or Mark Spitz for those of us with grey hair). Tips: 1. A trade show is neither a vacation nor a death sentence. Although it may feel like a death sentence during teardown. Take it seriously. And have fun! 2. Be nice to the labor. They can solve most pro ..read more